The Instructor
by Ice Godess
Summary: Sakura and Deidara are glued at the hip in high school. But what happens when some new students come and Sakura catches one of their eyes? And why does he see something that no one ever has? SakuraSasori
1. Friends

**Okay, this is my first time writing with Sasori and Deidara, so nobody yell at me when I get something wrong. Everyone will be a little OOC, but this is a high school fan fiction, so they had to change a little. If you don't like how it's written then don't read it. If you feel like you have to tell me everyone is OOC, go ahead. You will be ignored, but I hope it makes you feel better. But if you do happen to like it, leave me a comment. Thanks. **

**---**

She sat in her usual corner, watching everyone pour into the classroom. She was there early, like she was every morning, and everyone was just scuttling in right before the bell rang.

She looked to her right as books were dropped unceremoniously onto the desk. She smiled as her blonde friend plopped down in the seat next to her. His blonde hair fell in front of his left eye, covering one of his blue eyes.

"Morning, yeah."

She had met Deidara on the third day of school, when he was transferred into that class. Everyone was older, because she skipped and was now in all junior classes, instead of sophomore.

His blue eyes had scanned over the entire class, and had landed on her. She was surprised to say the least, and even more so when he started to walk back to her empty table. He ignored his fan girls, and gently sunk into the seat next to her. He said his greeting, the same one he spoke every morning.

Her face was bright red by this point, and once he noticed he laughed out loud. Which only caused her to sink farther down in her chair. She was trying unsuccessfully to sink into the floor, and when he noticed, he pulled her chair right next to his, pulled her up, and draped his arm around the back of her chair.

He hadn't let go of her ever since. He ended up in all of her classes, save one, and then he transferred into that one.

He had followed her for the whole school year so far, which was a whopping four weeks. But slowly she had begun to open up to him, blushing less and less, and talking more. She stopped hiding behind her books and papers.

And after awhile, she was even used to the arm that would drape over her shoulder when they were changing classes.

"Morning Deidara-kun." She replied as he placed his arm on the back of her chair.

"Have you heard the news, yeah? Said that some juniors are transferring, yeah. From that rich preppy school, Suna, yeah."

She turned to him, blinking her sea-foam green eyes at him, gently pushing her pink hair behind her ear.

"Transfer here?"

"Yeah. Some are supposed to be in our class, yeah."

"Do you know when Deidara-kun?"

"Talking about in the next few weeks, yeah."

He yanked her chair closer, and moved his arm to her shoulder. She looked up at him worriedly. He'd done this once before during class, and that was only because he was worried something would happen to her. He had gotten beat up for her several times, defending her from other juniors.

She laid a hand on his, and smiled up at him.

"Don't worry Deidara-kun. I'll be fine."

He smiled at her, but his arm never left her shoulder for the rest of the day.

She looked at him as they walked into the cafeteria.

"You know you'll have to leave my shoulders alone while we eat."

He grumbled, but pulled his arm away anyway.

'_Wow. He must really be worried. But I think the guys from Suna won't be much of a problem. I'd think they'd be to refined to pick on people.'_

She looked up at him as she followed him to there usual corner table. She sat in the corner, and he sat to her left. It didn't bother her. He did that often, changing seats from next to her, to across from her. They had the table all to themselves, with all other four seats empty.

His silence had begun to bother her. He was glaring at people more than usual, and people had begun to duck out of our way, especially the freshman and sophomores.

"Deidara-kun. What's wrong? This isn't just about the people from Suna is it?"

He just sighed.

"I just don't want you to be hurt, yeah. Like your freshman year, yeah."

She flinched visibly at the mention of her freshman year. It was not a pleasant memory. She had told him about it two weeks ago, when she had invited him over and snuck him into her room, because her father was home.

"Sorry, yeah. I just don't want you to get hurt, yeah."

She smiled. She understood his reasoning, but it was no reason to start a fight over it.

After she had told him about her freshman year, he had started getting into fights. She finally coxed it out of him when she was dressing some small cuts in her room Friday at one in the morning. Grumpily he admitted that some juniors and even some seniors were making fun of her.

They had fallen asleep together that night, his body against her small curled up one. He was gone before she woke up, a small sticky note by the window that said thank you.

After that night they were almost inseparable. Deidara basically became her knight in shinning armor, getting into a few more fights before they left her alone.

She poked him in the ribs several times, till he was forced to squirm away. She laughed at him, then smiled gently as he returned to his seat, pouting.

"I'll be fine Deidara-kun. Now eat before I force feed you."

She was forced into laughter as Deidara's eyes widened and he ate so fast till he broke his plastic fork and swallowed a prong. She was laughing for the rest of the day.

---

She closed her locker gently and then followed Deidara to his locker. He opened his with more force than was really necessary.

"Well, it's official, yeah. They start here next week, yeah."

She tilted her head, her pink locks falling in her face. She blinked a few times then looked up at him.

"You mean those guys from Suna?"

She heard a bang, and Deidara pulled his head out of the locker, rubbing the side of his head, which had a red mark, starting by the temple, and disappearing into his hair.

"You mean you forgot, yeah."

She smiled sheepishly, and gently rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, maybe."

He sighed as he closed his locker and they started towards the exit.

"You really are hopeless, yeah."

"At least I didn't try to eat my fork."

Deidara ended up chasing her all the way home.

---

Sakura collapsed on her front steps, panting. Deidara smiled at her from his position on her railing, before going back to his panting. He had caught her half way threw, and carried her to her subdivision, where he put her down and chased her to her house. Once there, both collapsed on the stairs leading to her front door.

Once she gained enough air to breath, she turned to him.

"Wanna come inside?"

"What about your dad, yeah?"

"Late shift."

"It's tempting, yeah. But I got homework, yeah."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

She waved at him from her doorstep until Deidara was out of site. She sighed then unlocked her door and walked inside. She locked it again behind her. She made a beeline for her room, and dropped her stuff. She shut her door, even though nobody was home. She pulled a box out from under her bed, and pulled a key out from a drawer of her desk. She unlocked it and placed another sheet of paper inside. She smiled gently and traced the image on the paper. She sighed and closed and locked the small black box. The box was big enough to fit the usual piece of paper, but nothing more. Delicately, she traced the picture on the top, which was the same as all the pictures inside. She placed it back under her bed, in the special corner by the head of her bed. She cleaned it weekly, so it wouldn't get too dirty.

She gave it one more tap under, before laying the bed skirt back down to cover it. Once she was satisfied it was well hidden, she turned to her desk to finish her homework, with little enthusiasm.

The rest of the week went mostly the same way, with Deidara calming down a little, and not being so possessive. The week went with little trouble, and the weekend was spent with them relaxing together, away from her house. But then Monday came, and Deidara was worse then ever. Over fifty students were transferred from Suna, and Deidara didn't like something about all of them.

---

**Well, that was my first chapter. Please tell me what you think. I would like to know. And, this is a Sakura/Sasori fic. Unless I get a lot of request for another pairing. But I really can't see her with Deidara. I think they would act more like a brother and sister. Not a couple. Well, tell me what you think so I can start working on chapter two. Thanks. **


	2. Art Class

She sat in her spot back in the corner, hidden behind her easel. Her art class was her favorite class of the day. The class right before lunch, and the teacher barely paid attention to them. They could do anything, including talking, rating, drinking sodas, listen to music, and they could make whatever they wanted.

Looking up, she watched as Deidara laid a large block of clay on the table to her left, and then placed an empty wooden frame on her easel, and handed her a rolled up piece of canvas, and a staple gun. She smiled at him and took them from him. But as she started to unroll her canvas, the door opened and closed again, and a student walked in, wearing the blue Suna uniform. He handed the teacher a piece of paper, as she looked over at Deidara. He was sitting in his chair, glaring at the red head in the front. She turned her class back to the front as the teacher spoke.

"Class, this is Sasori. He's your new classmate. So be nice and show him where everything is." She turned her attention to him. "Sit where you want, and do whatever art you want. Have fun, do whatever, yada, yada."

She walked out of the class, still mumbling some things. Sakura watched the Suna boy, Sasori, be instantly surrounded by girls offering to help. She then turned to the blonde boy next to her, who was still glaring at the red head.

"Hey Deidara?"

The blonde whipped his around so fast she winced for him. But his face relaxed as he saw it was only her.

"How about you make me something? I need something to watch over me at night."

He smiled at her and then took his clay out and started to work, occasionally looking at her, and once in awhile the red head who was surrounded by girls. She then turned to her own work. But first she turned to her book bag the cd player Deidara had given her over the weekend. She placed the cd player on her hip, and placed the earpieces in her ears, and pressed play. It was a mixed cd, the only one she had, that Deidara had made her. Surprisingly, she liked the music.

She then moved to her art. She finally unrolled her canvas, and loosely placed it on the frame. Next, she turned it over and stapled one side down, placing each staple an inch and a half apart. She then moved to the side across from the one she just did. She pulled it tight, so it was tighter than a freshly strung bow. She stapled the ends, then all the way across. She did the same for the other two sides, and then turned it around. She flicked it a few times, and when she decided it was good enough, she got up and went to get her paints and brushes. She only got five colors, but that was all she would need for this picture. She sat down and started painting, pausing for a second only to turn the volume up to drown out the giggling girls.

---

She started as a hand was placed in front of her face. She dropped the brush and turned the music down, and then hit stop. As she pulled her headphones off, she thanked whoever was listening that her brush wasn't on the canvas, otherwise the picture she'd been working on for the last hour would have been ruined.

As she realized the hand was still in front of her face, she followed it up the arm, to the shoulder, past the neck, and finally to his face. She was surprised to find Sasori in front of her. She looked around the room, only to find it empty, save for her and the red head in front of her. But her shoulders relaxed and she began to breath again as she heard Deidara swearing in the next room. She figured he was trying to figure out how to work something. She couldn't help the smile that came to his lips. But it quickly disappeared as he opened his mouth.

"Sasori."

She only looked at him, and at the hand that was still in her face. When she didn't do anything, he chuckled under his breath.

"You're supposed to shake it, and introduce yourself."

Her hand reached up, as her face turned redder than her hair. Her hand fit inside his, but his was so much colder than hers.

"I'm Sakura."

He stared at her, his eyes moving swiftly up and down her body. He smirked at her, and was about to rely, when a sudden breaking noise made him turn, and drop her hand. Sasori's attention was focused on the blonde that threw the object, while Sakura's eyes were drawn to the broken shards around Sasori's and her own feet. It was clay, the same clay Deidara was using earlier. Her eyes became fixed on it, and she moved to sit down on the floor, her mind blocking out the two who were arguing. The clay that was sitting around her, had once been a bird, the same bird that Deidara always made, but never kept. She picked up the biggest piece, which happened to be the head. Its eyes stared at her, and it almost seamed like it was smiling.

She watched, almost in awe, as several teardrops fell down, onto the birds head. She had lied to Deidara. She didn't need something to watch over her at night, she just wanted to keep him busy. But looking at the bird now, smiling at her, and her own tears falling on it, making the bird look like it was crying, only forced her to cry. And she felt so stupid.

---

She looked at her painting one last time, before storing it in the art storage room to let it completely dry. It was a picture of the desert. In the foreground, was a black scorpion, starring into the background, at a black silhouette, in a common dancing pose. The sky was decorated in purples and gold's, and oranges. She wasn't sure it was quite right yet, but she had time to make adjustments.

Sasori had left a few minutes before, once Deidara forget about him, seeing Sakura cry. She wouldn't give him an explanation, but she told him she was fine, and he was content not to push. Besides, lunch was almost over, and Deidara was hungry.

---

Yes, I know. Not that great. I've definitely got writer's block… and school so doesn't help either. So, if anyone has some ideas, I'll gladly take them. As for everyone being OOC, yes I know… but this is fanfiction after all. Thanks for reading.


	3. Home life

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I feel so bad. And I really don't have a good excuse. I hope you all forgive me, and still read it. Thank you. And I'm sorry.**

**Enjoy!**

**---**

The school day had ended, and Sakura was walking home alone today. Deidara had lost it, and finally punched a Suna kid. So he was now serving a detention, and he would also be spending several Saturday's in school as well. But he had come up to her before she left, and after the scolding she gave him, he smiled and told her it was worth it.

She smiled at the memory. Whenever it came to Deidara, she couldn't help but smile. He was funny, and never failed to make her laugh. Even when he didn't mean to.

Looking up, she saw someone leaning against the telephone pole up ahead of her. He seamed to be waiting for someone, and she was surprised when he suddenly pushed himself off the pole, and started walking towards her. She even looked behind her to see if someone was behind her, but they were alone on the street.

As she walked, her pace slowed down, until she finally stopped. As the guy approached her, his strides long and graceful, she started to recognize things. Like the blue Suna uniform he wore, or his red hair that seamed untamable, and then she saw the green eyes that looked as cold as his hand felt.

"Sasori…"

He smirked, obviously pleased that she remembered him. "Sakura," He murmured. "How nice to see you again."

She swallowed, and smiled at him, wondering why her stomach suddenly felt absent. She watched his eyes looked behind her, and then they moved back to her, warmer then before. "I see your guard dog is absent."

She was about to defend her friend, when he held his hands up mach surrender. "No need to go into defensive mode. It was just a joke."

She snapped her jaw shut, and chose to glare at him instead. Even if she wanted to tell him off, she wasn't to sure the she could find her voice at the moment.

She started walking again, and was surprised when he fell in step beside her.

"What are you doing?" Oh, there was her voice.

"Walking you home. It's the least I can do. Can't have you walking all alone can I?"

"I'm fine." But even as she said it, she knew she would feel at a loss if he turned around and left her to walk home alone. He said nothing, and just walked beside her at a steady pace, a smirk tugging at one side of his lips. They walked in comfortable silence to her house, both stopping at the end of her driveway.

"Thank you."

He smirked at her. "My pleasure. I'll see you tomorrow." Lifting her hand, he brought it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to it, never breaking eye contact. "Sakura."

And then he was gone, walking back down the street they just came down, hands in his pockets. And Sakura was standing there, hand pressed to her chest, watching him walk away, until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she turned and walked towards her house, still trying to control the blush that was on her face.

---

She was so lost in her thoughts as she walked into her house, that she didn't even notice the black car in the driveway. But all thought of Sasori left her the moment she opened the door.

"-YOU GOD DAMNED WHORE"

She flinched. Her father was home. And he was drunk again. Silently, she snuck up the stairs to her room. Halfway up, she heard the sound of glass breaking against a wall, and the sound of her mothers cry. She let out a strangled cry, the sound blocked by her hand pressing tightly against her mouth. She flew up the stairs, not caring how much noise she made. Inside her room, she locked her door, and then dove straight for her bed. She hid under the covers, and cried herself into sleep.

---

Groggily, she opened her eyes, and pulled the cover off her head. Some light came in her window, from the street light outside. Turning, she looked at the clock on her nightstand, and saw it was after nine o'clock. She sat up in bed, and rubbed her eyes. Pushing the covers off her, she stood and went to her bathroom. She winched in the bright light when she turned it on, and winched again as she saw her reflection. Her pink hair was a mess, and her eyes were red and puffy, and she could still see the tracks her tears made. She washed her face, which made her look a little better. After brushing her hair, she retreated back to her room.

Looking out her window, she saw that the black car which belonged to her father was gone. So, at her stomachs request, she went downstairs to raid the fridge. She found some leftover pizza, and stuck two pieces on a plate, and in the microwave. Sighing, she looked around the kitchen. The far wall held bits of glass and small drops of blood. The counter was full of empty and half-empty bottles, and random dishes were everywhere. She closed her eyes, and only opened them when the microwave beeped at her. Pulling the pieces out, she sat on the counter and ate them.

Getting her fill of pizza, she grabbed some water, and made her back to her room. Settling herself on the bed, she grabbed a book and started reading. It would be a long, sleepless night.

---

**Well, that's it for now. I'll try to update more regularly. Sorry for the long wait. And if you do like it, please tell me. Thanks. And until next time.**


	4. Boy Next Door

She groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid the sunlight. But no matter which way she rolled, it followed her, working its way under her eyelids, and insisting she get up. Rubbing her head, she sat up and looked at the clock next to her bed. It read nine in the morning.

She was halfway to the bathroom, when she gave a started cry. It was a school day. Groaning, she walked to the window, and looked out, messing up he already messy hair. There was no sign of the black car that was there last night. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Looks like she was alone for today. And looking outside, she wanted to keep it that way.

"I guess I'll pass on school for today…" She whispered to herself, heading back towards her bathroom. Thirty minutes later, she emerged, hair still damp from her shower, and dressed in loose fitting jeans and a baggy t-shirt. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she grabbed a cd, and headed downstairs.

She put the cd in the small radio in the kitchen, and turned the volume up as high as it went. Just enough sound to fill the kitchen. Standing there, she again surveyed the damage her father had done. It looked even worse in the morning light. Small and large pieces of glass littered the floor, and stuck in the wall. The walls were wet, and if she got close enough, she could smell the alcohol that covered the walls the night before. And the blood. Last night, it hadn't looked like much. But the morning light only showed that the blood was all over the kitchen. Shaking her head, and closing her eyes, she tried to figure out what went wrong. When her mind didn't answer her, she picked the trash can up, and kneeled down next to the glass.

She was picking up glass shards up for over an hour. The big shards were easy to find, but some of the smaller ones scratched her hands, causing them to add to the blood. She muttered small curses every time she did that. Which was quite often. And then she moved on to the shards stuck in the wall. She picked them out, causing more blood to smear on the walls.

When she was finally finished with the glass, she turned her attention to the blood that was splattered over the floor. Biting her lip, she grabbed an old mop, and started to clean the blood up. She tried not to look at the water as the blood mixed with it, but she couldn't help it. It sat next to her, taunting her the entire time she cleaned the blood up. Both hers and her mothers.

Looking at the wall, she decided she wasn't even going to bother. She would just paint over it later. But for now, she would leave it be. Turning to the kitchen, she turned the water on, and let it run. She was looking at her hands. Her hands were covered with dried blood, and all the glass cuts were red and raw. Sticking a finger under warm water, she winced as the water cleaned the wound. About to stick her hands in the water, she suddenly froze as a body appeared behind her, its arms reaching around her, to cup her hands in there bigger ones. She struggled against him, trying to get out of the hold. But the arms only clamped down harder. But the voice in her ear, barely louder than her music, made her still.

"It's just me Sakura, yeah."

She relaxed against him then, and let him work on her hands. He held her hands under the warm water, gently scrubbing the blood off. Scrubbing as best he could, he got most of the blood off. Reaching next to her, he grabbed a clean dish towel, and wrapped her hands in them. He dried them off, before finally letting her hands go, and wrapping his around her waist, and burying his head in her neck. His warm breath tickled her neck.

Setting the dish towel down, she placed her own hands over his. The kitchen was silent, except for their breathing: the music had stopped long ago.

"Deidara-kun… What are you doing here? And how did you get in?" She asked, her voice shaky. She leaned her cheek against the top of his head.

He pointed to a key that sat on the counter. "You told me where the spare was. And I was worried about you. When you didn't show up for school, I thought something happened yesterday 'cause I couldn't walk you home."

She smiled at the show of affection. "Actually, Sasori-sama walked me home."

She felt him stiffen, and slowly pull away from her. And she knew she said the wrong thing.

"Deidara-sama, it's okay. He didn't hurt me. Really. I'm okay."

He swore under his breath. She didn't understand most of them, and she was probably glad she didn't.

After he finished his little cursing fest, he took one look at her and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry Sakura, yeah. I just don't trust those guys."

She forgave him, and the two sat around and talked for hours, and watched a movie. It was six by the time she shoed him out, and she only got him to leave with the promise that he would be in school tomorrow, and she would wait for him after school so he could walk her home.

Smiling, she locked the door behind him, and returned to the kitchen to try and find something she could eat. She was hoping it would be something easy, because the bandages Deidara put on her hands made it hard to bend them. Sighing, she had just decided on a frozen pizza, when the doorbell rang. She looked at the door in surprise. She wasn't expecting anybody. She shrugged, and figured it was Deidara-kun. Opening the door, she was surprised to see a red-headed boy around her age standing there.

He was a little taller than her, by about half a head. His hair was a dark red, and he had a tattoo for the kanja of love over his left eye. His eyes were pale green, almost translucent, and were rimed with black. He wore black pants with several belts hanging off them, and a tight black t-shirt. She almost jumped when he spoke, making her stop staring.

"Can I borrow some flour?" He asked, pushing a measuring cup out towards her.

"Uh… umm… Sure?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on in. I'll get it for you."

Slipping his shoes off, he followed her to the kitchen, something she wasn't expecting.

"So, what are you cooking?" She asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I don't know. My sisters cooking. We just moved in next door."

"Oh. I hope you like it. It's a nice neighborhood. The schools okay, but-AH!" She was rambling, until she finally pulled out a sack of flour for the pantry. Opening it, she looked at him. "How much do you need."

He looked at her, then the cup, then her again. She smiled. I'll give you two cups, and if you need more, you can come back. Okay?"

She was about to pour, when she felt warm hands take the bag from her. She watched the boy pour two cups, and set the bag down on the counter.

And she knew, that he knew. Or he had an idea.

"I'm Sakura." She said, extending her hand.

"Gaara." He said, gripping her hand lightly. "Thanks for the flour."

She smiled to him, and followed him to the door. As she was about to close the door behind him, he turned around, and held it open. "If you ever need someone to talk to…" He nodded at her, and then walked away. Closing the door with a small click, she locked it, and the nwent back to the kitchen.

Maybe, maybe she would take him up on his offer.

* * *

**Well, that's if for this chapter.**** I'm glad I could finally add ****Gaara****. I'm sure things will get very interesting from now on. Thanks for reading. And see ****ya**** next chapter.**


	5. The Painting

Sakura opened the door, only to find Deidara on the other side, hand raised to knock. He smiled at her, and moved his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Morning, yeah."

"Good Morning Deidara-kun." She replied, locking the door behind her. They started towards the school, easily falling in step with each other. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red head walk out of his house, and slowly follow them towards the school.

Gaara.

She almost wanted to… well, she didn't know what she wanted. She just knew something felt weird. Deidara's words pulled her back from her thoughts, and she listened to him talk the whole way to school. He made her forget about the night before, and with his animated expressions, and exaggerated hand jesters. She even forgot about the weird feeling in her stomach from earlier.

He followed her to her locker, as she dumped her book from two days ago into her locker. Then they made their way towards first period.

The morning flew by, with Sakura getting all her make-up work from yesterday.

And then it was time for fifth period art class. When they got in there, Sakura received another surprise. The teacher had actually thought of something for them to do the night before. And that included having the painters on one side, and sculptors on the other. She gave Deidara a small wave, and went to her usual corner seat. To her surprise, Sasori dropped into the seat next to her a few minutes later, right as next rang. He gave her a smile, and then looked at the board as the teacher rattled off what he had thought of the night before. And then he went back to his computer. They were supposed to make a picture or sculpture with the person they were sitting next to.

"I didn't know you painted Sasori."

"I don't." He held up a hand before she could say anything. "I do charcoal sketches. It's close enough."

She smiled, and then got up and got a canvas and frame. She stretched it out while standing, and grabbed a few charcoal pencils and a brush and some paint before going back. She laid the canvas in front of him, along with the pencils.

"You draw the outline, I'll paint it, and you can add the dimension once I'm done." He looked at her, and then shrugged, and picked up a pencil.

She watched him sketch, turning several of his mistakes into smears, like they were mean to be there. But more than that, she watched the little expressions that crossed his face as he sketched. The small scrunching of his eyebrows as he concentrated, the quirk of his mouth when something came out right, even the way his eyes followed his easy light hand movements.

She was startled when he looked up suddenly, and was met by his light green eyes.

"You're turn."

She was surprised to find the canvas in front of her, an outline neatly drawn. It took her breath away.

It was a simple Sakura tree, with a forest in the background. Some unknown wind pulled at the leaves, and caused the few blossoms that had already fallen to dance around its base.

"Sasori… This is- I mean it's- Well it…"

She was saved from her rambling by Sasori placing a brush in her hand.

"Just paint Sakura." He murmured, his voice warm against her ear. And then he was sauntering across the room, going to get the appropriate colors. In the mean time, Sakura picked up the lighter of the two greens she had got, and started to paint the leaves.

* * *

Sasori had brought her the right colors, and had left her in silence to work. But she still felt his eyes come back and move over her before going back to stare at something else. But she ignored it as best she could, and kept painting.

She had painted the leaves, and the tree trunk, and now she was working on the Sakura blossoms. They were all one color so far, and she would add the depth and shadows later. But as she started painting the second blossom, the bell rang, telling them to get to their next class. For her, it was lunch. Looking up for the first time since she started painting the trunk, she noticed Sasori was already gone, all signs of his charcoal material already put away. Rubbing her neck, she noticed that most people were gone. Standing and stretching, she returned her paints and brushes, and put the unfinished picture in its place, and went to catch up with Deidara who was waiting for her in the doorway. Together, they headed to lunch.

* * *

School ended quickly after lunch, and Deidara met her at her locker as she stuffed all her books in it.

"Ready to go, yeah?"

"Actually, I wanted to stay. I was going to paint some more."

"I'll stay with you, yeah."

"No! Don't stay on my account. Besides, I'm sure you have homework, and I'm not sure how long I'll be here. Besides, you already walked me here. I'd feel bad if you walked me home to."

After a few more comments back and forth, and the puppy dog eyes, Deidara agreed to leave her there. But only after he got a promise that she would call once she got home. She walked him to the front door, and waved to him, before hurrying to the art room. The room was dark and unlocked, her teacher nowhere to be seen. She flicked one light on, and grabbed her supplies so she could keep painting.

* * *

"That looks beautiful." Warm breath blew into her ear, and large hands settled themselves lightly at her waist. She jumped, and dropped her paint brush, and it came to rest on the floor, a slight click the only indication that it fell. She froze. She hadn't moved since she started, and her muscles were now making her pay. A chuckle by her ear causes her hair to move.

"It's just me Sakura. No need to get so jumpy."

The warm hands turned her in her chair, enough so she could see red hair and light green eyes.

"Sasori," she scolded, smacking him in the shoulder. "That wasn't nice."

He chuckled again, and let her hips go as he sat down next to her.

"But I meant what I said. It looks beautiful."

She looked at the painting she was almost finished with. She had to agree with him, it did look beautiful. The leaves were green, with darker greens over it for the shadows. The trunk and blossoms were much the same, and the background forest was a deep green, with black shadows. Small flicks of black were around the bottom, dancing around the fallen blossoms.

"It does, doesn't it?"

He pulled a charcoal pencil out of his pocket, and added a few strokes here and there, and then added his signature with a flourish, under her painted one.

"All done." He laid the pencil down, and turned his body towards hers. She watched his eyes as they traveled up and down her body, a slight smile on his face. "The picture's not the only beautiful thing in this room."

She blushed a bright pink, and tried to find something to say. But before she could think of anything, Sasori reached out to her.

She watched as his hand came towards her, felt his fingers ghost across her cheek, and finally entangle themselves into her hair. Without resistance from her, he was able to pull her forward, close enough that their breathes intermingled. And then Sasori leaned forward that last little bit, and pressed his lips to hers. His lips were a contrast to his breath, cold on her warm ones.

His lips barely touched hers, just the slightest pressure, but every hormone in her body went into overdrive. But before she had a chance to respond, or even move, the slight pressure was gone.

By the time she blinked, he was at the doorway, one hand in his pocket as his other was up in a slight wave.

"See you tomorrow." He murmured, and then he was gone.

* * *

**Yes, it's a major cliff hanger, but I'm going to leave it there for now. I would also like to thank everyone for their reviews, they made me really happy. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next update.**


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